Stephen Colbert Rips Into Benjamin Netanyahu

Stephen Colbert has criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the airstrike in the Gaza Strip that killed seven workers for the charity World Central Kitchen.

Israel has come under fire from the international community after the airstrike on Monday night, which World Central Kitchen—a nonprofit founded by Spanish chef José Andrés—said occurred while the team was leaving a warehouse where they had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food that was brought to Gaza by sea.

Among the seven charity workers killed include one Palestinian and six foreign citizens, including a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada. The other victims were from Australia, Britain and Poland.

Netanyahu said in a statement on Tuesday that the airstrike was a "tragic event in our forces unintentionally harmed non-combatants in the Gaza Strip," adding: "This happens in war. We are conducting a thorough inquiry and are in contact with the governments. We will do everything to prevent a recurrence."

Colbert hit back at Netanyahu's statement during Wednesday night's installment of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, saying: "Nothing just happens. You are responsible. If your answer is, 'This happens in war,' then maybe consider ending the war."

After his comment sparked applause from the studio audience, Colbert went on: "This is not an isolated incident. On top of the thousands and thousands of innocent lives that have been lost, more than 200 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since the war between Israel and Hamas began.

"And as many of you know, the World Central Kitchen is near and dear to my heart. It was founded by our friend, Chef José Andrés, to bring food to hungry people after natural disasters and in war zones."

Colbert then cited the "beautiful op ed" that Andrés had written for The New York Times regarding the incident. "In the op ed, José makes it clear the World Central Kitchen doesn't take sides," the TV personality said. "Their work is based on the simple belief that food is a universal human right. It is not conditional on being good or bad, rich or poor, left or right."

"We do not ask what religion you belong to," Colbert quoted Andrés as writing. "We just asked how many meals you need."

"They walk the walk," Colbert said. "So far in this conflict, World Central Kitchen has delivered 1.75 million hot meals in Israel and 43 million meals in Gaza. They get in there with the food and they do the job."

"But now because of this airstrike, all of their operations in Gaza are suspended," Colbert added. "And that threatens to worsen the levels of hunger and malnutrition in Gaza that one U.S. agency called unprecedented in modern history.

"Instead of being welcomed, [World Central Kitchen workers] have been attacked by the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] and Hamas has hauled members of their team in for interrogation. So whatever you think should happen in Israel and Gaza, I hope we can all agree that people should be allowed to eat."

Netanyahu has faced immense pressure from the international community over his government's response to the Hamas-led surprise attacks on southern Israel on October 7. Gaza health officials estimate that over 30,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel embarked on retaliatory strikes. Israeli officials say that roughly 1,200 people were killed in the attacks by Hamas.

United Nations officials have warned that large swaths of the Gaza population are facing imminent starvation, and President Joe Biden has joined calls to reach a temporary cease-fire in the conflict to ensure that aid is able to reach those in need. Such agreements would also guarantee the release of some of the hostages taken by Hamas during the October 7 attacks.